Drops of Crimson

Chapter One

I have always known that I was different, that I was different from most people around me. I just didn't really know what that entailed. If I wouldn't have gone out that night I wouldn't be tied up in this position--literally.

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The morning air is crisp and cool, and I can feel it seeping through my light jacket. I can see the morning dew delicately sitting on the leaves and in the grass just waiting to be absorbed. The sun is nothing but a small sliver on the horizon, with the morning light bouncing between the dense trees. A slight fog is settled near the ground, coating it in a thin layer that reminds me of the foam on the shoreline at sea.

I always find that the forest can calm me, can somehow let me make sense of things. I don't have to listen to anything other than the sound of the trees rustling from the breeze, birds chirping around me, and whatever other wildlife takes a liking to this part of the woods. Here, in what I like to call my forest, I don't have to worry about the chaos of the world around it. It's just me out here; I've never seen anyone else in here, and I shouldn't, considering my closest neighbour is over 8 miles away.

I kneel down beside a fallen tree and pluck a small flower from the ground. Even with the broken tree, the sight is beautiful, and I take it all in.

I bring it up to my nose and I am engulfed with the sweet smell of it. Twirling it between my two fingers I decide to sit on the tree. I look at the flower a short while longer and set it down beside me.

I decide to close my eyes, absorb the smells, and listen to everything around me. I sit there with my eyes closed for a couple of minutes. I don't try to think of anything, I just sit there in silence in an almost meditative state.

I finally open my eyes and see that the fog has gotten thicker and has no longer settled close to the ground, but has risen through the trees, making it hard to see where I am going. It hangs heavy in the air and is cold and wet, making me think I should have worn a thicker jacket.

The forest seems more eerie this way, but I ignore it, and get up from the tree and start walking further into the woods. The further I head in, the denser the fog becomes. It makes me feel strange; it both lures me and repels me.

I keep moving further.

I smile at how "courageous" I have become. When I was a kid, I could never have walked casually through the fog, or a forest by myself for that matter, without getting scared and looking around me erratically. Now here I am, wandering around in the morning with the faintest of light, into what I used to be scared of. Funny how things change, I think to myself.

A crow's caw echoes through the trees, startling me out of my small daze, not sure how far I've walked.

I realize just how quiet things have become. Even with the small amount of light coming through the trees the eeriness makes me shiver and I feel vulnerable to the forest and what lives in it. I realize that I can barely see ten feet in front of me, so I turn around and start walking back to where I came from.

I keep walking... walking.... walking... only I don't find the tree I was sitting on.

Damn it...

I decide to keep walking a little further, trying to not let my imagination get the best of me. Everything is fine, it's just you have no idea how far you've walked, that's all. I take a deep breath and continue walking, checking where I step so that I don't trip or stumble on anything.

"Ah, there it is" I quietly whisper to myself while letting out a small huff.

Deciding to take a little break again, I go and sit on the tree that has fallen over. I bend over from my sitting position to pick another flower, noticing the one I set down earlier isn't there and must have blown off.